MOSCOW – Vacation time in February in Russia's capital might not be on everyone's must-do list.

But after three weeks of covering the Sochi Winter Olympics for USA Today, dealing with spartan hotel conditions and 15-hour shifts, a few days in Moscow were as welcome as a week in Cabo. Just brisker, and with more vodka.

For the Baby Boomers in our group, there was another reason to make the 850-mile flight from Sochi. We spent a good deal of our lives equally fascinated and terrified by this secretive superpower that, we were told, wanted to wipe us off the map. Touring the heart of the "new Russia" was too enticing to pass up.

With just 48 hours in Moscow, we couldn't waste a minute. Fortunately, we had an ace up our sleeve: the translator USA Today hired for us in Sochi also is a Moscow tour guide.

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Elena took us on a walking tour, picking up members of our group from hotels along Tverskaya Street, the main artery of several roads that radiate from Red Square, the hub of Moscow.

It was a bright, clear day in the low 30s. As we strolled, we saw the best and worst of Russian architecture. Moscow is criticized for its many gray, dull, Soviet-era buildings, but there are flashes of inspiration.

On Tverskaya you pass the Hotel Pekin at Triumfalnaya Square. It's a great example of Stalinist Neo-Classicism from the 1950s, topped with a slender spire. The hotel isn't one of Joseph Stalin's "Seven Sisters," but it's clearly influenced by those skyscrapers, built to satisfy his desire for Moscow's skyline to have a Manhattan flair.

We continued south to Pushkin Square, named for poet Alexander Pushkin, credited as the father of modern Russian literature. This part of Tverskaya includes the culinary sublime — Cafe Pushkin (more on this later) — and ridiculous — the first McDonald's to open in the then-Soviet Union, in 1990.

We passed the Bolshoi Theater, with its chariot-team monument charging from the portico, and the Hotel Metropol, which became the home offices of the Bolsheviks as they formed the Soviet government in the 1920s. Down a side street is the former headquarters of the KGB.

This area borders Revolution Square, which leads to the crown jewel of Moscow: Red Square.

Here, history seeps into your consciousness. To the right is the wall of the Kremlin. Ahead is Lenin's Mausoleum. To the left is the red gingerbread of the State Historical Museum. And at the far end is probably the most-photographed feature in Russia: the colorful onion domes of St. Basil's Cathedral. For 200 rubles (about $5.50), you can tour the 16th-century Ivan the Terrible-era edifice, which lost its role as a religious structure in the 1920s but still awes with its icons, artifacts and artwork.

To walk the smooth cobblestones of the square is to trace the path of so many May Day parades, with Communist leaders watching from on high as the tanks and missiles of Soviet might rumbled past.

Yet across Red Square sits one of the famous Russian contradictions. (Russia "is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma," Winston Churchill said.) It's the enormous shopping mall that houses the GUM department store, which recently celebrated its 120th anniversary. The store has opened and closed several times over the years, but generally has been the chic shopping destination in Moscow, even when times were bleak for most citizens.

At this point we were ready for a break. GUM was a perfect spot for coffee or a slice of pizza (and, of course, the ever-present vodka) as well as a chance to pay 86 rubles to use something labeled the "historic toilet." (We passed up the chance.) It also was a good time to compare notes about Muscovites.

Whatever we might think about Russia's leaders — and recent events have us thinking all sorts of things — the people we met in Moscow were pretty typical of those in a major city. Most were too busy getting from here to there to pay us much mind, but in pubs and shops we got a chance to mingle with everyday Russians.

As had been the case in Sochi, with all the young volunteers working the Games, the people we met were curious about Americans and not the least bit shy about starting a conversation, even if their English wasn't advanced.

They wanted to know whether we had been to the Games and what we thought of them (excellent) and how we liked Moscow (lots of fun), but mostly they wanted to know what we thought about Russians. We assured them that we liked Russians just fine. We found them enthusiastic tinged with a bit of self-doubt, or maybe it was just stoicism.

Or maybe it was the effects of the subway system.

Moscow's Metro is no ordinary subway, and not simply because some stations were dug deep to serve as bomb shelters. The first several phases were designed as a museum to show off art (and political rhetoric) to people who otherwise were shut off from culture enjoyed by the elite.

Elena took us to breathtaking stops where we saw paintings, mosaics, bronze statuary and even stained glass, most extolling the virtues of the working man and woman and celebrating Lenin (whose bust seemingly was everywhere) and the Communist Party.

By the time we emerged onto the street it was getting dark. Some of us had tickets to the Bolshoi Ballet, others to the Great Moscow Circus. Five of us were headed back to Pushkin Square and Cafe Pushkin for what turned out to be a singular dining experience.

A five-star restaurant with prices to match, Cafe Pushkin is set in a three-story mansion and evokes the Russia of the czars. We put ourselves in the hands of our fabulous waiter, and the rest was a stream of borscht, vodka, dumplings, stroganoff, wine and much more.

The next day, it was back to Red Square for some unfinished business: Lenin's tomb. The tour of his mausoleum is a serious matter. You must check everything in your possession so there is no chance of sneaking in a camera or phone. Once inside, there are guards every 25 feet or so, and they keep you moving. I have no idea how they have maintained Lenin's body in such pristine shape for 90-some years, but it's extraordinary, and creepy.

When you exit, you pass the Kremlin Wall Necropolis. Originally built on a mass grave from the October 1917 revolution, it's now the final resting place for the likes of Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev.

From here, we decided to check out some of Moscow's many excellent museums. There are art museums covering many genres and eras, museums dedicated to Soviet military history and even the KGB, and, of course, Russian history from all perspectives. But the one that fascinated me most was just this side of the final frontier.

So, two Metro lines and nine stops later, I was standing at the 110-meter, gleaming titanium Monument to the Conquerors of Space that towers over the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics. As a space-exploration fanatic — covering the launch of the shuttle Discovery's final mission in 2011 was the thrill of a lifetime — seeing the other side of the space race was a must.

Even though some of Russia's prime space memorabilia — such as the capsule of the first manned spaceflight taken by Yuri Gagarin — is housed elsewhere, the museum did not disappoint. Exhibits walk visitors through Soviet/Russian space history, which is considerable in its firsts: satellite, man and woman in space, space walk. Many of the signs are in Cyrillic, but there is enough English to paint a clear picture.

Time was winding down on our two days, but there was time for one last good meal — duck stew at a Georgian restaurant — and one more nightcap in the Ritz-Carlton overlooking the Kremlin and Red Square.

MORE TO EXPLORE: See Mark Faller's photos of Moscow at travel.azcentral.com.

Visiting Moscow

Sports journalists traveling to Russia for the Olympics had it easy because our credentials served as visas. For others, traveling to Russia takes preparation.

Flights

Many U.S. airlines and their international partners fly to one of Moscow's three airports. The trip takes 16-22 hours, depending on the number of stops and layover lengths. From Phoenix, you must connect through a U.S. city such as Los Angeles or New York. Then, depending on your airline, you will go directly to Moscow or stop in a European city. A quick check of June flights showed round-trip fares ranging from $1,300 to $3,500.

Visas and passports

Russian visa requirements are complicated and take time to complete. The U.S. Department of State and Russian Embassy websites have detailed information. Tourist-visa fees can be several hundred dollars, depending on length of stay. In general, you must make travel and hotel arrangements first, then apply for a visa. (This is called "sponsorship.") You may be required to show proof of just about anything: health insurance, employment history, bank statements. Your U.S. passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the visa expiration date and have at least two clear visa pages for entry stamps.

Details: travel.state.gov, www.russianembassy.org/page/visas.

Hotels

Moscow has many brand-name international and Russian hotels of all levels of quality and service. Many are within walking distance of Red Square. They can be pricey, but not out of line with other major international cities. Rooms at the Marriott Moscow Tverskaya where I stayed go for $146-$377 a night in June.

Sightseeing

Many services offer guided tours of just about every aspect of the city. A group of reporters raved about their experience with Happy Moscow Tours. They paid $66 per person (excluding gratuity) for a six-hour walking tour. There also are tours of the Kremlin, Moscow at night, cultural Moscow and car/van options.

Details: sites.google.com/site/happymoscowtours.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Mark Faller is director of azcentral sports. He has been sports editor of The Republic since 2003. He has been a newspaper sports editor since 1990 and has also worked as a sports and news reporter and columnist.